Government publishes political reform plans

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

The Cabinet Office has published its draft political reform plans as part of the government’s structural reform plans.

Structural reform plans, which have been published by every department, are the key tool of the coalition government for making departments accountable for the implementation of the reforms set out in the coalition agreement.

The political reform priorities, set out in the document, focus on parliamentary democracy, devolution, decentralisation, accountability, localism and civil liberties.

Some of the main priorities include the establishment of fixed term parliaments, giving people a choice on voting reform and implementing reforms to transfer power from Westminster to local people.

The overall political reform approach reads:

The coalition’s political and constitutional reform programme is a comprehensive response to the over-concentration of power in an over-centralised state. The British state has become too authoritarian. We have to reclaim our proud traditions of freedom and democracy.

To restore the balance we need to redistribute power and accountability back where it belongs, restore civil liberties and promote the autonomy and self-determination of the individual and the neighbourhood -a rebalancing in favour of communities and the citizen, not the state.

The political reform plans will contribute towards the Spending Review in October.